4 August '07

The Netherlands have provided for protective vaccination in its Contingency Plan FMD, which means that vaccinated animals can live afterwards and will not be culled when all the hectic culling has passed.

In 2001 many hobbyholders saw their vaccinated animals culled at the end of the crisis. If having your animals culled in the heat of the fight angainst the disease is traumatic, having them culled when they are safe (vaccinated) after the crisis is devastating.

It's a good thing that the authorities both in the EU as in the Netherlands have now provided for vaccination to live. Check the points 23, 24 and 26 in the COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2003/85/EC (see at 'Lees verder').

23) It is necessary to prevent any spread of the disease as soon as an outbreak occurs by carefully monitoring movements of animals and the use of products liable to be contaminated, and where appropriate, in particular in densely populated livestock areas, by emergency vaccination.

(24) The action taken to control the foot-and-mouth diesease epidemics which struck certain Member States in 2001 has shown that international and Community rules and the ensuing practices have not taken sufficient account of the possibility offered by the use of emergency vaccination and subsequent tests to detect infected animals in a vaccinated population. Too much importance was attached to the trade-policy aspects, with the result that protective vaccination was not carried out even when it had been authorised.

(26) By means of emergency vaccination without subsequent killing of the vaccinated animals the number of animals to be killed for disease control purposes may be reduced significantly. Appropriate testing should thereafter substantiate the absence of infection.